Leveling and alignment of ectopically erupted maxillary canines with continuous archwires: Insights from geometric morphometric analysis

Abstract

Objective To evaluate the three-dimensional movements of ectopically erupted maxillary canines (EEMCs) during orthodontic leveling and alignment with continuous archwires. Methods Eight patients with EEMCs were treated with a 0.014-inch CuNiTi archwire fully seated in self-ligating maxillary brackets. Seven intraoral scans were obtained per patient from baseline (T1) to 12 weeks thereafter (T2–T7). Geometric morphometric analysis incorporating principal component analysis (PCA) examined the (1) positional and angular changes of the EEMC and adjacent teeth and (2) alterations in the triangular relationship formed by the brackets of the lateral incisors, canines, and premolars. Results The PCA revealed consistent EEMC extrusion, despite differences in the initial conditions, with the canines reaching apicocoronal alignment with the neighboring teeth after 12 weeks. All EEMCs showed uprighting. The triangular bracket configuration changed systematically, with the distance between the lateral incisor and premolar increasing as the canine was extruded. Conclusions Despite the small sample size, this brief report revealed a consistent space-opening effect and EEMC uprighting during alignment.